


Fuck me, I'm awful at titles but I'm a decent writer I promise

by Choose_wisely



Series: Miraculous Self Indulgence [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien figures it out before Marinette does, Adrien is jealous, Adrien is jealous of Nathanael, Basically all the things everyone seems to want but nobody will fuCKING WRITE, But a larger part of me wants to see adrien crUSH HIM, Confusion, F/M, Fluff, Happy Ending...?, I love jealous adrien ok, Jealous, Jealousy, Mild Angst, Part of me just wants to see the lil tomato happy, Possesiveness, Reveal, Reveal Fic, Slow Burn, Where did my tag game go, Youll find happiness soon i promise, im sorry nath, marinette is oblivious, pre-reveal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-31
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-30 06:49:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6413323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Choose_wisely/pseuds/Choose_wisely
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrien figures it out before Marinette does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Plagg in Agony

Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the girl who sits behind him in every class. Ladybug, Paris' beloved superhero, is the girl he loves. Unbeknownst to him, they are one in the same.

Plagg knows this.

And it's driving him up the wall.

Not only that, he knows that Marinette has a  _crush_ on his charge, because literally everyone can see it from miles away, _except Adrien_. It's a fucking love square. Plagg is so done.

Which is why he's seriously getting tired of dealing with Adrien's increasingly frequent meltdowns about his developing crush on Marinette, because this  _should so totally not be a problem by now_. Of course, he can't just straight up reveal Ladybug's identity to his charge, because that would be going against both hers and Tikki's wishes, and like hell is he risking the wrath of Tikki. 

Plagg, however, adamantly and proudly proclaims himself to be a little shit. At the moment, a very  _annoyed_ and _frustrated_ little shit. So he's going to drop as many hints as possible.

" _Plagg!_ " Adrien wails, "This can't be happening! I'm in love with Ladybug, I shouldn't be feeling anything at all for Marinette!" 

Plagg sighs. "Adrien, I'll tell you this. Every Chat Noir there has ever been, they have always, always fallen in love with their Ladybug. It's sickening. She is always their only love. Not necessarily their soul mate, but the only one they can have true feelings for. Call it what you will, fate, destiny, but it's certainly not because of the Miraculous. It's not exactly a coincidence, but it's no prophecy piece. I'll be honest, it doesn't always work out." Adrien's face droops, but Plagg carries on, "But because of that, I really doubt you have to get so worked up about falling for this Mariella-whoever. If you are falling for her, there's bound to be a perfectly reasonable explanation." 

Plagg zones out after that, because Adrien lets out another wail, and  _dear lord_ this kid is  _daft_ , because he  _basically just told him that Marinette is Ladybug and he still doesn't get it._ It's times like these where Plagg seriously regrets being immortal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty short and Plagg-centric, but the plot will pick up in a bit and move more towards Adrien' point of view.


	2. Love Grows Stronger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien tries to pinpoint when exactly he started crushing on Marinette.

It must have been when she ran for class president -- She had impressively kept her cool at Chloe's attempt to sway the vote with Jagged Stone, protected the class from the akuma, and gave an impressively genuine, impromptu campaign speech in which she addressed all of the students concerns without stuttering _once_. All the same, she had maintained her undeniable sweetness, and seamlessly adopted the role of leadership. Marinette had really shone that day.

But no, it had to have been earlier. Perhaps a few days before, when Myléne had turned into the Horrificator. Marinette had shown such concern for her classmate that day, adamantly reasoning that the lead role had been given to Myléne for a good reason, insisting her importance in the film, and even going after her herself when the others stood down. There was also the fact that he had nearly kissed her that day, their faces barely an inch apart before Chloe had barged in, accusing Marinette of having a conniving agenda, though Adrien had known that wasn't true. She had been made to stand in for the role against her own will, after trying so fiercely to persuade Nino to pursue the original actress. It didn't hurt that Marinette's lips had looked so soft and full, or that her waist had felt so feminine beneath his hands. He could distinctly remember his heart beginning to beat faster when she put her hands on his collar, though his model composure had failed to let it show through. She had blushed just so underneath his gaze, and even at the time, he couldn't deny that that was tantalizingly cute.

And yet, he was sure that that hadn't been it. Surely it had been prior to that, perhaps a week or so before, when the timid Nathanaël had turned into the Evillustrator. He had encountered Marinette at Chat Noir that day, internally bewildered as she blatantly played him. He had rolled with it and continued to show off, pretending he couldn't tell she was sassing him, but wow. Adrien never would have guessed that sweet Marinette of all people could have been sassy, much less to one of Paris' proclaimed heroes. Earlier that day he had overheard her defending Sabrina, the girl who frequently bullied her as the Bourgeois' lackey, from Chloe, even though Sabrina had given in on her own account just before the Evillustrator had shown up. He was stunned at how Marinette always found it in herself to be kind.

But alas, twas not the moment, either. He thought back to the time when she won the derby hat contest, creating a splendid design, even if it had made him sneeze uncontrollably. It was the thought that counted. She couldn't have known about his allergy, of course. He recalled fondly when he stumbled upon Marinette's designs, utterly in awe of a talent that rivaled even his father's, in his opinion. He had nearly scared the life out of her, with the way she dove behind the bench and barely managed to peek out from behind it to recieve his praise, he thought ruefully. Since then, he had constantly reminded himself to be gentler with her; She was obviously intimidated by him, and the thought of it was almost enough to make him cry.

The next thing he thought of was a small detail, but he thought it best to cover all his bases. It was the day that Alix had turned into Timebreaker, and Mari had took it upon herself to make the poster for the event between the zany skater and reckless Kim. He had really admired her handiwork on the poster, actually. She seemed to have taken her time on it, putting care and effort into each detail. In addition, she had been the one to go and try to comfort Alix about her broken watch, even though it has most certainly been Chloe's fault. Adrien thought that she really hadn't deserved the way that Alix blew up at her, and recalled his anger. Suddenly, he wished _he_  could go back in time to defend Marinette.

Maybe it had been on his birthday, when Marinette had been kind enough to get him a gift for his birthday, despite clearly not liking him very much. He, unfortunately, never recieved the gift, but he realized that Marinette was obviously trying to give him something before he left, something that was _wrapped_  and _on his birthday,_  so it had clearly been a birthday gift. How sweet of her, he smiled.

It could have been a few days before, as well, when he noticed her babysitting with Alya in the park where he was modeling. For no reason he could identify, he nearly swooned at the thought of her being good with kids. The girl seemed to really like her, considering how much attention the little one was trying to garner from his Princess. He wished Marinette had been free, so that she might have stayed and watched him model. 

But no. None of those times had been the moment he started falling for the sweet, lovely Marinette. He knew for sure now, that the moment he began descending was that same fateful day that he started public school, received his Miraculous, and with it Plagg, as well as met and fell in love with his Lady. He had been trying to get the gum Chloe had stuck on her seat off when she walked in and promptly began to tell him off. No one had ever done that before. Resourcefully, she had pulled out a napkin and placed it over the offending substance before promptly sitting down with Alya and pointedly ignoring him the whole day. It was only later, just before he gave her his umbrella, that he realized he wanted the affection of this girl who had so quickly shunned him. He let loose, spilling his guts out to her in hopes of getting her to understand where he was coming from. Noticing that she didn't have a ride home, he gave her his umbrella so that she wouldn't get rained on. She had hesitated, probably fearing that he was pranking her before accepting the umbrella, staring up at him with those bluebell eyes, and then the umbrella closed on her. He couldn't help himself -- He laughed. Hard. Soon after, so did she -- And hearing her laugh, sharing that moment with her, that's when he dipped inti loving the beautiful Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

It hadn't been all at once, like with Ladybug, and I hadn't hit him nearly as hard. No, Adrien's love for Marinette Dupain-Cheng started small, practically undetectable, and grew just a tiny bit every time he saw her, every time he experienced her kindness washing over someone in his vicinity. Every time he looked into those eyes of hers, he swam a little deeper into them. His love for Marinette had been as subtle as the freckles dusted across her permanently-flushed cheeks -- Until it wasn't. Until one day, his love to her became as glaringly obvious as her unrelenting, breathtakingly kind heart.

Knowing that he had started falling for Marinette the same day he had fallen for Ladybug, he didn't feel so bad about it anymore. They were both strong, brave, confident, resourceful, sweet, kind, caring, beautiful women who were more than deserving of his love. But of course, neither were interested in him. He couldn't believe his luck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the next chapter will probably be anothet drabbly-type thing from Adrien's perspective, but focusing more on all the times he fell for Marinette after Darkblade. Hes figured it out, but he's still reflecting on it, you know? That will probably be updated either tomorrow or overmorrow, and then after that chapter the plot will pick up.  
> By the way, this is meant to take place right after season 1.


	3. Heart Grows Fonder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien thinks of all the times he lost his footing for Marinette after Darkblade attacked

Adrien remembers the time when Alya asked him to help Mari speak to her uncle, Wang Cheng. He recalls bonding with the older Cheng over a shared fondness for his Princess, although he had not yet placed the root of that fondness at the time. He had watched, amazed, as Marinette stuck up for her uncle to Chloe, watching her ignite at the notion of someone she cared about being insulted. And yet not a moment later she had turned to him and sorrowfully confessed her qualms about her uncle disliking her, and he had nearly fallen over in an effort to make sure she saw the truth about how much she was cared for. Later, he had watched with an aching heart as Wang embraced her and declared his winning concoction Marinette Soup, wanting desperately to be a part of it. Perhaps that was another reason he was so drawn to her; She had such a loving, impossibly warm family. All of the Dupain-Cheng clan are hesitantlessly kind and pure.

There was also the time around the Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament, when she had literally decimated him and Max at the game. He had been thrilled to enter the loving atmosphere that was the Dupain-Cheng household, intoxicated by the smells of baking and the feeling of familial love. He genuinely enjoyed his time with her, rejoicing as they won every game they played, even though getting started had been awkward and he had been deprived of getting to try any of the treats offered to him by Tom and Sabine. He did finally get to enjoy a snack with her at the park, but it had been cut short when Le Gamer showed up. Instinctively, he dove for her to get her out of harm's way, and he would have blushed if they hadn't been in such a hurry. He had just been  _on top of Marinette_ , their lips inches apart. Je felt terrible when he had had to abandon her, but he figured he would've been able to defend her better as Chat Noir anyway. The two of them worked fantastically as a team, much the same as he and a certain bug... He shook Ladybug out of his head for the moment. Focusing on his feelings for the both of them at the same time just made his head hurt.

Next there was the time when he set Nino up on a date with her. He had meant it when he told Nino that he was oggling Marinette too much -- He didn't like the strange, dark feeling that settled in his gut when Nino told him he had a crush on her. Nonetheless, he wanted to be a good friend, and so had helped him score a date with her. It had been hard to tell him that he wasn't going to come over the earpiece, since he so desperately wanted to. He truly enjoyed spending time with her. Needless to say, he had been extremely relieved when Nino told him that his attentions has shifted from his Marinette to Alya. He worried that Mari might have been too cute for him to keep his paws off of if she and Nino had started dating.

After that, there had been the time when he ran into Mari and Alya on the train, and then a bit later as Chat Noir. She looked so frightened when she saw him on the train, diving behind Alya. She hadn't even been able to greet him until Alya prompted her, which made him a bit sad. She seemed so petrified around him as Adrien, and yet so relaxed with Chat Noir. He had been suprised at the rush of protective instinct he felt when Alya suddenly turned into Lady Wifi; usually he only felt that way when a blast from an akuma got too close to his Lady. He found it cute when Mari told him that she had her own, handmade Ladybug et Chat Noir dolls.

A few days later, Mari had caught his attention once again, on School Picture Day. He had seen her, Juleka and Rose talking just before the picture was to be taken, but he was too far to hear what the had been saying. And it was Marinette who had insisted upon Juleka being in the class photo, and Marinette who had set up a special shoot in the park, just for Juleka. His only wish for that day was for he and Mari to have been next to each other in the picture. And he was _really_ glad that he and Ladybug had defeated Reflekta, since he was pretty sure Marinette had gotten turned into a copy. It would have been truly awful if he hadn;t been able to see her pretty face again.

He remembered how shocked he was to hear that his Marinette had designed the cover of Jagged Stone's latest album, and how proud. He bought the album immediately, not just because of how much he liked Jagged, but also because he was eager to have something that Mari had designed. Her attention to detail and craftsmanship had been stunning and flawless as always, and he was thrilled when she agreed to sign his copy. It was bittersweet, though, when she had acted so bewildered at the thought of someone wanting _her_ signature, the way she had immediately assumed that he wanted Jagged's penmanship on his record. But he had nearly melted when she blushed, thought he could practically feel the heat coming of her blush to warm his heart. Was the thought really so strange to her? She was an amazing girl, after all. Why wouldn't anyone want her signature? Did she feel the same way about her designs? The thought nearly crushed him. Her designs were excellent! And he knew for a fact that she signs everything she makes, so, what was the deal? Speaking of things she's made, he recalls those crazy sunglasses she made for Jagged Stone just a few days prior. She really had a knack for capturing someone's essence.

He laughed. Had he just unintentionally made a pun? The day she had made those sunglasses, the _akuma du jour_ had been one of Jagged's crazed fans, who ended up becoming an akuma that could capture people by taking a picture of them. He laughed again. _Capturing someone's essence_. He shuddered then, remembering that he managed to get captured not just once, but _twice,_ and with _Chloe_ , no less. Oh, how he wished it had been Marinette. He certainly wouldn't have minded being trapped in an endless expanse for all eternity with _her_.

He leaned against his large window and sighed in pining, much the same as when he received an anonymous Valentine's letter he thought to be from ladybug. He glanced at it, tacked up on his wall, then fixated on it and stared. Hurriedly, he rushed to it and read it over, remembering what he had written on the letter he threw away.

_Your hair as dark as night,_

_Your pretty bluebell eyes,_

_I wonder who you are_

_Beneath that strong disguise_

_Everyday we see each other,_

_And I hope that you'll be mine_

_Together,_

_Our love could be so true_

_Please,_

_Will you be my Valentine?_

Originally, he had written the letter for Ladybug. But reading it over now, his description of the intended recipient seemed to describe both she _and_ Marinette. Sure, dark hair and blue eyes weren't terribly rare, but _bluebell eyes?_ Thinking over all the blue-eyed girls knew, he came up with Chloe, Sabrina, Rose, Alix, Marinette, Ladybug, and Andrea, his cousin who he occasionally modeled with. Chloe's eyes were the colour of fake rhinestone sapphires. Sabrina's were more turquoise than blue, like Nathanael's. Rose's looked like the waters in El Caribe. Alix's were bright and drilling, like a blue spotlight. Andrea's were a cold and icy barely-blue, almost grey, like his father's. But Marinette and Ladybug's were the only two he knew of that were _bluebell_ hued. Infact, their eyes were _eye_ -dentical. He didn't have it in himself to chuckle.

And how exactly had Ladybug gotten ahold of his letter? He had thrown it in the trash, _at his school_. That meant Ladybug must have been at his school that day. Looking through the trash. And why would she be looking through the trash, unless she had seen him put it there? And, hadn't everybody left the classroom when he finally got up and discarded the letter? Except...

"Plagg." Adrien spoke dryly, his throat feeling like sandpaper. "I think I'm onto something here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AHHHH HERE IT COMES  
> Plagg must be so relieved oml  
> By the way, sorry about this being a day or two late. The inspiration just wasn't coming, but now that we're past the second chapter, writing and updating should go smoothly. The plot's picking up, yayayayay!  
> By the way, El Caribe is Spanish for the Carriben, but I don't really know how to spell that, so I just wrote it in Spanish, as I'm bilingual. Sorry if that was confusing.


	4. FUUUUUCK THIS MAN I HATE CHOOSING TITLES

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Back track and play back, he said what now?" -from the list of things I cant remember are from fanfiction or cannon  
> as a guitarist, dubstep is great, but i will never, never understand how its made. computerized instruments? whaaaaaat?  
> honestly i cant tell if the siren noise in the background is actually sirens or just the music. no, no, wait, yeah, those are actual sirens. damn, that's like, the third one today.

Adrien is about to spontaneously combust.

"PLAGG! Plagg. Plagg help."

Plagg bitchfaces his way over to Adrien, internally screaming

"What's wrong with you now?"

"Is Marinette Ladybug?!"

Plagg makes his best 'idk' face and shrugs. "The heck if I know." More internal screaming.

Adrien falls onto his bed. "I am incapable of moving right now. Please get me a notebook, I need to make a venn diagram or something."

For once in his unfathomably long life, Plagg decides _not_ to be a little shit. Honestly, the kid deserves a break. So Plagg hauls a notebook over to his charge, pencil between his... fangy things.

Adrien sends a silent thanks to Plagg and draws two shitty circles on the first blank page he finds in his diary, then hastily scribbles down anything he can think of about Ladybug and Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so this chapter is short and shitty and long overdue but you have to understand i got high and wrote this. and then kinda forgot I wrote it. I just found it on my computer and couldn't figure out how to continue it so the next chapter will be longer and probably updated tomorrow or tonight, sorry


End file.
